- Alicia Keys has had commercial success with her albums Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys, winning multiple Grammys. She was the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. - Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun and follow-up A Girl Like Me both peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200. She achieved her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "SOS". - Whitney Houston has sold over 200 million records worldwide and influenced many other artists. She held several chart records, including seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Her soundtrack for The Bodyguard is the best-selling soundtrack of all

2. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with
Columbia and then Arista Records. Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success,
selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B
artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New
Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'" becoming the second American recording artist to win five Grammys
in one night. Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another
success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy
Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at
number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to
debut at number one.
Hit Singles
Doesn't Mean Anything - Empire State Of Mind - Fallin' - Girl On Fire - If I Ain't Got You - Like You'll
Never See Me Again - No One - Superwoman - Tears Always Win - Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart

3. Her career began upon meeting record producer Evan Rogers in late 2003 through mutual friends;
she recorded demo tapes with his guidance. Her tape was sent to several record labels, and she
subsequently signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its then-president, hip-
hop producer and rapper Jay-Z. Both her debut album, Music of the Sun (2005) and its follow-up A
Girl Like Me (2006) peaked in the top ten on the US Billboard 200; the former featured the
commercially successful song "Pon de Replay" while the latter produced her first Billboard Hot 100
number-one single,"SOS".
Hit Singles
California King Bed - Diamonds - Disturbia - Don't Stop the Music - Drunk on Love - Good Girl Gone
Bad - Love The Way You Lie - Only Girl - Pon De Replay - Rude Boy - Russian Roulette - S&M - S.O.S. -
Shut Up And Drive - Take A Bow - Umbrella - We Found Love - What's My Name - Who's That Chick

4. In 2009,Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is
one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million records worldwide. Houston's crossover
appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I
Know", influenced several African American women artists who follow in her footsteps. Houston is the only artist
to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the only woman to have two number-
one Billboard 200 Album awards on the Billboard magazine year-
end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album ’Whitney Houston’ became the best-selling debut album by a
woman in history. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1986. Her second studio
album ’Whitney’ (1987) became the first album by a woman to debut at number one on the Billboard
200 albums chart. Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ’The Bodyguard’ (1992).
The film's original soundtrack is the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 40 million
copies worldwide. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a woman
in music history. Houston had 11 number one singles in the United States.
Hit singles
Saving All My Love For You – Greatest Love of All – How Will I Know – I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Didn't
We Almost Have It All – So Emotional – Where Do Broken Hearts Go – One Moment In Time – I’m Your Baby
Tonight – All The Man That I Need – I Will Always Love You – I’m Every Woman – I Have Nothing – Exhale – My
Love Is Your Love – Its Not Right But Its Okay – Million Dollar Bill

5. Jackson's 1982 album ‘Thriller’ is the best-selling album of all time. Jackson is one of the few
artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His
other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards as well as
the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; 26 American Music
Awards, more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the
1980s"; 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career, more than any other male
artist in the Hot 100 era; and the estimated sale of over 400 million records worldwide. Jackson
has won hundreds of awards, making him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of
popular music.
Hit Singles
Bad – Beat It – Billie Jean – Dont Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Earth Song – Man In The Mirror –
Smooth Criminal – The Way You Make Me Feel – Thriller – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – You
Are Not Alone

6. Carey came to prominence after releasing her self-titled debut studio album ‘Mariah Carey’ in
1990; it went multiplatinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles on the
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Under the guidance of Columbia Records executive and later
husband Tommy Mottola, she continued booking success with follow up albums ‘Emotions’
(1991), ‘Music Box’ (1993), and ‘Merry Christmas’ (1994), Carey was established as Columbia's
highest-selling act. ‘Daydream’ (1995) made music history when its second single "One Sweet
Day", a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and
remains the longest-running number-one song in U.S. chart history. During the recording of the
album, Carey began to deviate from her R&B and pop beginnings and slowly traversed into hip
hop.
Hit Singles
Vision Of Love - Love Takes Time – Someday - I Don't Wanna Cry – Emotions - I'll Be There –
Dreamlover – Hero – Fantasy - One Sweet Day - Always Be My Baby – Honey – My All